The Executive Branch

The Executive Branch: The Presidency Qualifications

The Executive Branch: The Presidency Formal Qualifications: 35 years old Natural Born Citizen U.S. resident for 14 years

The Executive Branch: The Presidency Elections and Terms of Office

The Executive Branch: The Presidency Term of Office: 4 years = 1 presidential term Constitution originally placed no limit on number of Presidential terms George Washington established a tradition when he stepped down after 2 terms

Presidential Elections Held every four years First Tuesday in November Inauguration dates A presidential election is held every four years, and the years of Presidential elections are always divisible by four. The election takes place in November on the first Tuesday after the first Monday. Inauguration of a new president takes place early the following year. The winner used to take office on March 4th; the passage of the 20th Amendment in 1937 changed the date to January 20th—largely to avoid the wetter weather that plagues Washington, D.C., in the early part of spring.

The Electoral College meets in 1876 Reasons for the creation of the Electoral College Choosing electors Ballots cast in December, made official in January The framers of the Constitution felt the people of the United States were too illiterate and poorly informed to properly choose a presidential candidate. Consequently, the Constitution created a body known as the Electoral College. Rather than having the people vote directly to determine who becomes president, the people instead vote to determine presidential “electors”—members of the Electoral College. The votes of the electors then determine who becomes president. The Framers had intended that electors would be well-educated and hoped that electors would use their best judgment to determine if the people of their state had chosen “correctly.” However, electors today do not exercise independent judgment and are expected to merely formalize the decision of their state’s voters. During primaries and caucuses, each political party in a state nominates a slate of people to be electors; the party of the presidential candidate who wins the state determines which slate becomes electors. Electors meet in their own states to cast their votes on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December. The votes then go to the U.S. Senate to be counted; they get made official before a joint session on Congress early in January. The Electoral College meets in 1876

Electoral Votes Calculating electoral votes Of 538 electoral votes: 435 = House of Representatives 100 = The Senate The 23rd amendment A state has the same number of electors as it does members of Congress. You can calculate the number of electoral votes an individual state has by adding its total number of representatives plus their two senators. Thus, a state’s electoral strength corresponds to its total population relative to that of other states—similarly to the way it does in the House of Representatives. Of the 538 total electoral votes, members of Congress account for 535; the other three come from Washington, D.C. The 23rd amendment was passed in order to provide a legal basis for residents of the District of Columbia to vote for President. Washington, D.C., has three electoral votes, which is equal to the minimum number of votes a state can have. California has the most electoral votes; states like Wyoming and Vermont have the least

Presidential Primaries and Caucuses Primary: an election held to pick a party’s candidates for a general election Caucus: a group of people (usually those from a single political party) who meet to choose a candidate to support in a general election Primaries and caucuses are elections held in each state so the voters can choose their favorite candidate from those wishing to run for president on their party’s ticket. Usually held from January through June in Presidential election years, voters (in most states) must choose a particular party’s ticket and only vote for candidates and delegates from that party. Delegates go to the national convention for their party in order to cast their votes for the candidate that won their state. Future president Gerald Ford runs for Congress in the 1948 Michigan primary

National Conventions Delegates formally select candidates for president and vice-president Platform: a party’s formal statement about its positions, goals, and principles The first national conventions for the two major political parties were held in 1831. Conventions are held in the summer of Presidential election years. At conventions, members of the party adopt a formal platform, nominate candidates for president and vice-president, and work hard to unite the whole party behind both the candidate and the platform. Ronald Reagan gives his acceptance speech at the 1984 Republican national convention

The Executive Branch: The Presidency Salary and Benefits

The Executive Branch: The Presidency History of Salary: Position Salary President    1789 $25,000  1873 50,000  1909 75,000  1949 100,000  1969 200,000  2001 400,000

The Executive Branch: The Presidency Benefits: Receives $50,000/year for expenses and up to $100,000/year for travel Salary cannot be changed during term Free lodging at the White House and Camp David

The Executive Branch: The Presidency Benefits: President and family receives finest medical care possible and personal protection (secret service)

The Executive Branch: The Presidency Benefits: President has plane (Air Force One) and a personal helicopter (Marine One) at his disposal

The Executive Branch: The Presidency Presidential Succession

The 25th Amendment Deals with instances in which the president dies or becomes disabled Established an order of succession Set rules for choosing a new vice-president When President Kennedy was killed in November of 1963, it highlighted the fact that the Constitution had no set procedure in place to determine who would assume the office if a sitting president died. The 25th Amendment was designed to remedy this oversight. The amendment established an order of succession if the President dies: (1) Vice President; (2) Speaker of the House; (3) President pro tempore of the Senate; (4) Secretary of State; (5) the rest of the Cabinet members in the order that their office was created by Congress It also set a procedure for occasions where a new vice-president needs to be selected: the president nominates someone, then the person has to be confirmed by both houses of Congress. The 25th Amendment also outlines what needs to happen in cases where a president becomes disabled. When a president knows he will be “unable to discharge the duties of his office” (usually due to a medical condition or operation), he can temporarily transfer power, allowing the vice-president to serve in his place until he recovers. In cases where a president unexpectedly becomes incapacitated, the amendment allows for the vice-president to become acting president only after he and the “principal officers of the executive departments” (i.e., members of the cabinet) attest to the president’s incapacitation in a written declaration they send to the president pro tempore of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House. Lyndon Johnson takes the presidential oath of office after the assassination of JFK

The Executive Branch: The Presidency Line of Succession: The Vice President Speaker of the House President pro tempore of the Senate Secretary of State Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of Defense Attorney General Secretary of the Interior Secretary of Agriculture Secretary of Commerce Secretary of Labor Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Secretary of Transportation Secretary of Energy Secretary of Education Secretary of Veterans Affairs Secretary of Homeland Security

Presidential Powers Executive Legislative Judicial Diplomatic Military The next slides will discuss the primary powers of the president.

President Richard Nixon signs an Executive Order Executive Powers Chief Executive Executive orders Appointments Removals The Constitution requires the president to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” Although Congress makes the laws, the executive branch often decides how to administer and enforce them. One way for the president to accomplish this is through executive orders, which are rules or directives that have the force of law. The president also has the power to appoint people to nearly all the most important positions in the government, including attorney-general, foreign ambassadors, Cabinet departments, heads of independent governmental agencies like the CIA and NASA, and Supreme Court justices and federal judges. These appointments remain subject to the approval of the Senate. The president also has the power to remove any people he appoints to office except for federal judges. President Richard Nixon signs an Executive Order

Legislative Powers Recommend legislation to Congress Approve measures passed by Congress Veto power Call special sessions of Congress The president can recommend legislation to Congress and can also sign measures passed by Congress, which then makes the measures law. The president can also reject measures passed by Congress; this is known as the “veto power.” A veto prevents the measure from becoming law and sends it back to Congress; senators and representatives can then revise the measure and send it back to the president or override the veto by a two-thirds majority vote in each house. The president can also exercise what’s known as a “pocket veto,” which only occurs at the end of a congressional session. A pocket veto situation happens like this: Congress sends a bill to the White House for the president to sign but then adjourns within ten days of doing so. If the president doesn’t either sign or veto the bill, it dies. Finally, the president can call special sessions of Congress. President George H.W. Bush signs into law the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act

Judicial Powers Appointment of federal judges Reprieves Pardons Commutations Amnesty In addition to appointing judges to the federal bench or Supreme Court, the president can also grant or offer the following: Reprieve: a postponement of a sentence Pardon: legal forgiveness of a crime committed Commutation: reduction of a sentence or fine imposed as punishment for a crime committed Amnesty: a general pardon for a group of people who all committed a specific crime Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger and President Nixon at press conference announcing Burger as new Chief Justice

President Lyndon Johnson pins a medal on soldier in Vietnam Military Powers Commander in chief of the U.S. military Power to deploy troops The War Powers Resolution As commander of the U.S. military, the president has the power to deploy troops anywhere in the world in order to respond quickly to threats to the security of the U.S. and its allies. Although the president cannot formally declare war (that power is reserved to Congress), he can essentially wage war without a formal declaration, as occurred with the Korean War in the 1950s and the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s. The American public largely stood in support of U.S. intervention in Korea, but the U.S. presence in Vietnam met with increasing opposition on the home front. The Vietnam War also produced calls for Congress to curtail the president’s power to wage war for an indefinite amount of time. The War Powers Resolution of 1973, which Congress passed over President Nixon’s veto, placed a 60-day limit on the length of time a president can commit U.S. troops to combat situations without congressional approval. President Lyndon Johnson pins a medal on soldier in Vietnam

President Kennedy signs the 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Diplomatic Powers Treaties Recognition Setting foreign policy The president has the power to negotiate treaties, which are formal agreements between nations. The treaty then has to be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. The president also has the power of recognition, which means accepting the government of another country as legitimate. Recognition usually involves the exchange of ambassadors and/or other diplomatic representatives. Although not a duty specifically outlined in the Constitution, the president also essentially sets U.S. foreign policy. He accomplishes this not only through treaty-making and recognition, but by deploying U.S. troops to specific regions, by deciding which international agreements the U.S. should become party to, and through speeches and pronouncements he makes regarding situations throughout the world. President Kennedy signs the 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

The Cabinet Advises the president Not mentioned in the Constitution George Washington’s Cabinet Although not mentioned in the Constitution, the Cabinet plays an extremely important role in the operations of the executive branch. The Cabinet consists of several executive “departments” that manage different functions of the federal government. The heads of these departments, who usually go by the title of “secretary,” also are responsible for advising the president on their particular areas of expertise. In 1789, Congress created the first Cabinet-level positions. George Washington’s Cabinet was comprised of the following men: Secretary of State—Thomas Jefferson Secretary of Treasury—Alexander Hamilton Secretary of War—Henry Knox Attorney General—Edmund Randolph

The Modern Cabinet State—handles foreign policy matters; Treasury—manages tax collection, currency production, governmental borrowing, the national debt; Defense—oversees the U.S. military; Justice—responsible for law enforcement and prosecution. Interior—handles issues relating to the use and conservation of public lands; Agriculture—handles issues relating to farms and ranches, and production and sales of food; Commerce—focuses on trade issues surrounding U.S.; issues patents and trademarks; conducts U.S. census; Labor—handles worker-related issues, especially those dealing with labor unions, wages, and working conditions. Health and Human Services—public health care, disease prevention and control, and prescription drugs; Housing and Urban Development—enforces fair housing laws, oversees public housing and home-financing programs; Transportation—oversees programs relating to the various forms of transportation used in the U.S.; Energy—manages a variety of programs relating to different forms of energy production. Education—administers federal aid to schools; researches education-related issues facing the U.S. as a whole; Veterans Affairs—manages programs and other forms of aid for U.S. military veterans; Homeland Security—U.S. terrorist attack prevention; U.S. border/public domain security; emergency preparedness and response.